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Microsoft cancels 'Fable Legends' and closes Lionhead
Fable Legends has officially been canned and developer Lionhead Studios will be shut down, Microsoft announced in a blog post this morning. Fable Legends was poised to be a free, multiplayer-focused, fantasy-action game -- and a fairly dramatic departure from previous installments in the series. Microsoft announced Fable Legends in 2013 and it was supposed to launch in late 2015, though in December it was delayed into 2016. Lionhead is based in the United Kingdom and it's responsible for franchises such as Black & White and (of course) Fable. Famed game designer Peter Molyneux founded Lionhead in 1997 and led it for more than a decade, even once Microsoft acquired the studio in 2006. Molyneux left in 2012 after finishing Fable: The Journey.
Report: Free Play Days appear in Xbox One preview program [update]
Microsoft has a new promotion in store for Xbox Live Gold subscribers dubbed "Free Play Days," assuming a screenshot captured by Reddit users under the Xbox One preview program can be taken at face value. Redditor JBurton90 posted the above image to the online discussion hub last night. It appears to depict Xbox One game Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, only the cutesy platformer bears the words "Free Play Day With Gold" in place of a price tag. Nearby, Crimson Dragon and Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut are also listed as "free" for Xbox Live Gold subscribers owing to the ongoing and well-known Games With Gold promotion - the same promotion that offered Max: The Curse of Brotherhood to Gold subscribers at no charge just last month. Though it's unclear exactly what the Free Play Day promotion entails or when it will officially launch for members of the general public, it seems pretty self-explanatory. Presumably, Xbox Live Gold members will be granted one day to play games available as digital downloads through the Xbox Live Marketplace at no charge. Microsoft has yet to officially acknowledge the promotion, though a recent tweet from Xbox Support confirms the validity of this report and claims that the company will offer more information shortly. Update: A Microsoft spokesperson told Game Informer, "A promotional tile for Max: Curse of the Brotherhood was posted briefly on the US dash in error yesterday. We apologize for any inconvenience. We're constantly exploring different ways to offer more benefits to our Xbox Live Gold members and will keep them updated when special offers become available." [Image: Reddit]
Xbox digital game codes now available at retail
For those who love the convenience of downloading games to their Xbox console but also enjoy shopping in the real world, Microsoft is now offering download codes via brick and mortar retailers. Currently, this offer is only available in the US and UK and only on select games and DLC items, including the Xbox 360's zombie survival game State of Decay, the Xbox One's adorable platformer Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Forza Motorsport car packs. Though customers taking advantage of this offer are purchasing only a redeemable code, there is no discount for grabbing the digital version instead of a physical copy. Assuming this initiative is a success, the publisher plans to introduce additional games and DLC to the retail digital marketplace. [Image: Microsoft]
Games with Gold dips into Guacamelee on Xbox One
In July, Xbox Live members across Xbox One and Xbox 360 get a round of new, free games to download: Xbox One Gold members get Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition, replacing June's Halo: Spartan Assault. Max: The Curse of Brotherhood will carry over to also be free in July on Xbox One. On Xbox 360, Golders get Gotham City Imposters from July 1 - 15. Then from July 16 - 31, Gold members can snag Battleblock Theater for free. [Image: Microsoft]
You can queue up June's Xbox One freebies for download now
Xbox One owners that have waited since Friday's announcement of this June's Games with Gold freebies to click that shiny download button are now able to do so. This month's free games, available only to Xbox Live Gold subscribers, are Max: Curse of the Brotherhood and twin-stick shooter Halo: Spartan Assault. Microsoft announced last month that June would be its newest home console's first time dancing with the both the Games with Gold and Deals with Gold programs. The month's discounted Xbox One games are NBA 2K14 and Call of Duty: Ghosts, which join a handful of sales on Xbox 360, including Saints Row 4 and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Additionally, Xbox One players can pick up Crimson Dragon for half-off ($10). Xbox 360 owners will need to wait until June 16 for Charlie Murder and Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition, while Dark Souls is available as a freebie now and until June 15. [Image: Press Play]
Games with Gold doles out Xbox One freebies in June
Microsoft's Games with Gold program will give away five games to Xbox Live Gold members in June, including its first free offerings for the Xbox One. Xbox One subscribers will receive free copies of Press Play's 2.5D platformer Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and 343 Industries and Vanguard Entertainment's twin-stick shooter Halo: Spartan Assault in June, marking the one-year anniversary of the Games with Gold program. Xbox 360 owners, meanwhile, can expect to see Ska Studios' co-op XBLA brawler Charlie Murder, From Software's Dark Souls, and Capcom's Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition throughout the month. Availability dates for next month's featured games have not been announced. [Image: Microsoft]
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood meets its marker on 360, PC
After quietly missing its April release dates, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is out today on Xbox 360 and PC. The young scamp and his enchanted crayon first returned to our screens on Xbox One last year, but you can now grab the puzzle-platformer for $15 on Xbox 360, or £12/15 euros in Europe - the Steam release should hit later today at the same price. Like Magic Marker, The Curse of Brotherhood has you doodling things in the environment to help Max progress. The next game from Danish studio Press Play is another colorful platformer with a twist, but it looks a fair bit different to the Max games. Instead. Project Totem tasks you with controlling two totem pieces with a single controller, and it sounds like it'll be a challenging proposition for Xbox One and 360 owners when it hits this fall. [Image: Press Play]
Xbox 360 draws in Max: The Curse of Brotherhood next month [Update: PC too]
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is headed for the Xbox One's older sibling next month, with an Xbox 360 release date of April 9 announced this week. Microsoft exec Phil Spencer used his magic crayon - otherwise known as his Twitter account - to reveal the date, prompting developer Press Play to confirm it. Max: The Curse of Brotherhood follows on from Max and the Magic Marker, but swaps out that game's 2D sketchings for a detailed 2.5D look. In the platformer, Max uses his magic crayon to manipulate the environment around him, drawing vines and water streams as he navigates the perils standing between him and saving his little bro. There's no news on a price for the Xbox 360 port, but the Xbox One version was priced $15 when it launched towards the end of last year. Update: Press Play also announced a Steam release date of April 15, and confirmed prices on both PC and Xbox 360 of $15 for North America, and £12/15 euros for Europe. [Image: Press Play]
Best of the Rest: Ludwig's picks of 2013
Team Joystiq has concluded its selection of last year's best games. Click here to see the complete assembly of ingenious indies and triple-A triumphs - until next year! The Wonderful 101 The boundless, ALL-CAPS exuberance of The Wonderful 101 may have been misread by its intended audience. Overseen by Mr. Devil May Cry himself, Hideki Kimaya, this vibrant action game conveys cuteness in its army of stout superheroes, but poses creative and razor-sharp challenges without taking a breath. The game's cartoonish antics and enormous bosses are beyond ridiculous, dwarfing the mechanical cleverness that lies beneath it all. The real novelty lies in drawing shapes and having your heroes congeal into corresponding mega-swords and huge hammers (also: puddings). It becomes a practiced analogue shorthand, not unlike your maneuvers in a fighting game, and the hard-earned rewards satisfy in much the same way.
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood swings onto Xbox One, out now
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, the follow up to Max and the Magic Marker, is available right now on Xbox One, priced $15 on the Xbox Games Store. The Microsoft-published 2.5D platformer was due on the Xbox 360 in the spring, but that window got pushed back to early 2014 after developer Press Play announced the Xbox One version. After an idle wish for his annoying little brother to disappear is spectacularly granted, Max sets off to save his smaller sibling, once more employing the help of a magic crayon. The previous game's 2D drawn-on look is swapped out for higher 3D detail in The Curse of Brotherhood, and now the marker can manipulate water streams, raise platforms out of the ground, and twist out handy vines (plants, not Sliwinski) for Max to use. While The Curse of Brotherhood snuck out a little early on Xbox One, there's no news on an ETA for Xbox 360.
Max uncaps his Magic Marker again in XBLA's 'Curse of Brotherhood'
XBLA exclusives are becoming rarer and rarer. The latest is a sequel to Max & The Magic Marker by developer Press Play. Max: The Curse of Brotherhood sees a very impressively CG-rendered hero accidentally banish his brother to another dimension, then going on a quest (with the help of his reality-altering marker) to rescue him.The presentation has evolved from brightly-colored cel-shading to a more realistic 3D look, though the 2.5D gameplay is intact. In the introductory trailer, the magic marker is used to draw vines, water, and more.The game launches this spring on XBLA, for 1200 Microsoft Points. It's a cautionary tale, to warn you of what would happen if you put a curse on your sibling but didn't have any other magic powers.
